|
|
Monday, January 22, 2007
|
|
Woman goes extra mile for race for the cure EVERYDAY PEOPLE Staff Writer After volunteering for two years for the Komen Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure, Tammie Sand-Benson felt she needed to do more.
So Sand-Benson joined the committee that plans and organizes the annual event, which raises funds for breast cancer research and promotes breast cancer health programs in the Brainerd lakes area.
As team chair, she's responsible for the more than 40 teams that participate each year. She also updates the information on the Web site, www.brainerdlakesrace.org. A new Web site will be launched today.
"It feeds my soul, it really does, especially on race day itself," Sand-Benson said of participating in the event. "You can feel the optimism on that day."
|
|
|
|
Tammie Sand-Benson laughed as she spoke in her Baxter home Friday about her work on the committee that hosts the Komen Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
Sand-Benson knows the fear, worry and uncertainty felt by a family when a loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer. Her mother, Lois Sand, Albany, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in March of 2002. That July, Sand-Benson organized her first family team to participate in the Race for the Cure, called the Sand Gang. They included her husband, Jim; their two young sons; her parents, her two brothers and their wives and their children.
"It was a very emotional time," Sand-Benson explained. "It was so emotional. And it was so inspiring for her to see all these women in their pink shirts not only surviving, but flourishing in life."
Tammie Sand-Benson
Age: 39.
Residence: Lives in Baxter with husband, Jim; and their two sons, Reese, 8; and Blair, 6.
Occupation: Works part-time as the youth ministry assistant at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter.
Volunteer work: She's a member of the Komen Brainerd Lakes Race for the Cure committee, serving as team chair and updates the local race Web site. She's volunteered for the past six years. She and her husband also are first-grade Sunday school teachers at Lord of Life.
Why is she a race volunteer? Sand-Benson's mother, Lois Sand, of Albany, is now a five-year breast cancer survivor. She started volunteering for the Race for the Cure after her mother was diagnosed. They have a 25-member team who participates each year called the Sand Gang.
Best part of race day: "Seeing the sea of pink shirts for the survivor picture," she said.
Book she's reading now: "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama.
Favorite current movie: "Night at the Museum." "It's so cute," she said.
Winter wish: "I would love more snow," said Sand-Benson, who likes to snowshoe. "I'm sad for our kids who haven't experienced snow like we did when we were kids."
|
After undergoing a mastectomy, a round of radiation and an ongoing struggle with lymphedema in her right arm following her surgery, Sand-Benson's mom will celebrate her fifth anniversary this year as a breast cancer survivor, an important milestone in cancer recovery. The Race for the Cure has become a family tradition for the 25 members of their Sand Gang team. Sand-Benson said her family, which includes her sons, Reese, 8, and Blair, 6, participate in the one-mile family walk while her husband Jim participates in the 5K run. Jim is the general manager at the Lodge at Brainerd Lakes in Baxter.
|
|
|
|
Christie Jelinski and other volunteers of the local Susan G. Komen for the Cure place the first ribbon at the Brainerd Savings and Loan Sunday for the "Tie the Town Pink" event, which celebrates Komen's 25th Anniversary. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is marking this milestone with a renewed passion that incorporates a new name and logo, while keeping the same vision of a world without breast cancer. The Brainerd Lakes affiliate is dedicated to furthering the Komen promise in Cass and Crow Wing County. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
Originally from Albany, Sand-Benson has lived in the Brainerd lakes area for 10 years. She met her husband at a hospitality trade show in Minneapolis when she had been working in the hospitality industry in St. Cloud and he worked at Madden's Resort. Sand-Benson is a St. Cloud State University graduate who majored in geography.
At her part-time job as the youth ministry assistant at Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Baxter, Sand-Benson plans youth retreats and mostly deals with planning involving the church's confirmation classes.
She and her husband teach their son Blair's first-grade Sunday School class together. Last year she taught son Reese's class so this year it was Blair's turn, she said. Her family is her top priority but her work with the Race for the Cure is also an important part of her life, she said.
|
|
|
|
Volunteers of the local Susan G. Komen for the Cure put up ribbons Sunday at the Brainerd Savings and Loan for the "Tie the Town Pink" event, which celebrates Komen's 25th Anniversary. The week of January 22-26 is Promise Week and businesses are invited to join the effort by tying large pink ribbons on the exterior of their establishment. The promise of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure is to rid the world of breast cancer forever and the foundation is renewing their commitment to that mission. Brainerd Dispatch/Kelly Humphrey
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
|
|
|
|
|
Sand-Benson hopes that one day there will be a cure for breast cancer, not so much because she worries about herself one day being diagnosed with the disease but because she knows what a cancer diagnosis does to an entire family. Her parents drove from Albany to Baxter on a Friday night to tell them in person. Her mom had surgery that following Monday.
"I just don't want any family to feel that again," said Sand-Benson. "It doesn't just affect the person with breast cancer. It affects your family and your friends."
JODIE TWEED can be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
|
Schools has an opening fo...
|
|
not a
9-5 person,
how about
11-2, 4-...
|
|
CASH!!
Independent Carrier need...
|
|
position plans sales trai...
|
|
is hiring for the following
...
|
|
|
|
Bids Being Accepted
call...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Today's Best Classifieds:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mostly Clear, 80°
